Artificial fuel.



'vided fuel base in the UNITED STATES PATEN JOHN WOOD LEADBEATER, OF DONGASTER, ENGLAND, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF'TO JOHN SAMUEL BOOTH AND JOHN HOLROYD BOOTH, OF WAKEFIELD, ENGLAND.

ARTIFICIAL FUEL.

- Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Jan. 12, 1909.

Application filed. July 20, 1907. Serial No. 384,742.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOHN l/Voon LEAD- BEATER, subject of the King of Great Britain and Ireland, residing at 2 Morley road, Doncaster, in the county of York, England, engineer, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in and Relating to An tificial Fuel, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to artificial fuel of the type in which the fuel base is formed in blocks with an agglomerating substance. In such fuels it has been proposed to use a vegetable and mineral agglomerating material together with a calcium compound to form a bond. It has also been proposed to em ploy with other ingredients a solution of dextrin or silicate of soda as an agglomerant, and to heat the mixed ingredients to a high temperature by boiling them or by blowing superheated steam into them. There dextrin solution has been employed the high temperature to which the mass has been usually heated has hindered the formation of a satisfactory agglomerant and the results have left much to be desired in reliability while the cost of production has been excessively high.

The object of the present invention is to provide an improved method of manufacture of artificial fuel.

The invention consists in a method of manufacturing artificial fuel which consists in mixing silicate of soda with a finely dicold state, mixing dextrin therewith, and subsequently moderately heating, and treating in any usual way for the formation of briquets.

In carrying the invention into efleotwe employ a base materialpreferably anthracite, though other suitable fuels may be used. This anthracite is ground into a more or less fine powder and mixed with silicate of soda. After thorough mixing of the base and silicate of soda there is added a small percentage of dry dextrin.

It is important that the three ingredients the base, the silicate of soda and the dextrinsh0uld be thoroughly mixed in the sequence herein set forth while in the cold state. The mixture is then heated in a steam jacketed vessel to about 75 F., and when the mass assumes a somewhat adhesive nature it is passed through presses and treated in the usual manner to form blocks. In some cases I may add lime water and resin oil, approximately in proportion of 10 lbs. of the former, and 1 lb. of the latter to a ton of the fuel mixture, in order to render the blocks more or less waterproof.

Suitable proportions of the materials employed are as follows Anthracite (small) 88% Silicate of soda 8% Dextrin (powder) 4% Other proportions may be employed: also the temperature may be varied somewhat; but it should not be much higher than that given. It is essential that the mixing of the base shall be thorough in order to avoid the union of the silicate of soda and the dextrin powder locally into hard lumps, since in this form these agglomerating agents cannot perform their duty of binding together the small particles of the fuel base.

Having thus described my invention, I declare that what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is 1. A method of manufacturing artificial fuel which consists in mixing silicate of soda with a finely divided fuel base in the cold state, mixing dextrin therewith, subsequently moderately heating and then treating as required, substantially as described.

2. A method. of manufacturing artificial fuel which consists in mixing silicate of soda with a finely divided fuel base in the cold state mixing dry dextrin with the mass,

bringing the mass to a temperature of about 75 Fahrenheit and subsequently treating as required.

3. An artificial fuel composed of a fuel base agglomerated by an agglutinant which consists of the product which results from mixing the following two substances together in the cold state: (1) silicate of soda and (2) dry dextrin.

4. An artificial fuel composed of finely divided anthracite, agglomerated by an agglutinant consisting of the product of mixed name to this specification in the presence of silica: of 8%(13. 1ajriid 1dextrin. f 0d two subscribing witnesses.

5. narti cia ue consistingo the r w net of mixing approximately 88% of small JOHN WOOD LEADBEATER' 5 anthracite, 8% of silicate of soda and 4% of Witnesses:

dextrin powder. ALBERT E. PARKEB,

In testimony whereof I have signed my FRANCIS J. BIGNELL. 

